Weren’t You the One Who Was Dying? Chapter 104

His words reached my ears, which meant they had surely reached Ehit’s as well.

This was strange too, wasn’t it? Attending a ball together with your former fiancé after breaking off the engagement.

The thought made me a little uncomfortable.

I should slip away naturally.

I subtly slowed my pace again. But Ehit wasn’t that easy to shake off.

Maybe even less so than a year ago.

“Do your feet hurt?”

I had planned to blend into the crowd by slowing down, but the moment I lagged even a single step behind, Ehit stopped walking.

“No, not at all.”

“If they do, tell me. I’m strong enough to carry you.”

“I’m strong enough to stop you from carrying me.”

Before I knew it, we had entered Gerke’s Room.

It seemed to be a room where the Fifth Prince had once stayed. Perhaps because it was close to the ballroom’s main hall, it was especially crowded.

“Colonel! Thank you for coming.”

Marquis Esi, the host of the party, greeted Ehit warmly. Naturally, his gaze shifted to me standing beside him.

By custom, a host usually greets guests by name first. But since I had come suddenly at Naia’s request and was hiding half my face behind a fan, he seemed uncertain.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure I wanted people recognizing me anyway, so I made every effort to keep my face hidden.

The marquis looked toward Ehit. He nodded slightly, clearly hoping for help.

But Ehit showed no intention of helping at all. He simply stood beside me with his usual unreadable expression, staring calmly at the marquis.

Unable to find an answer, the marquis quickly changed the subject.

“Thank you for coming as well, my lady. There will soon be an event here, so please join in!”

An event?

“Yes, there will soon be a dance. Participants will draw numbers to determine their dance partners.”

While Marquis Esi excitedly explained the event, all I could think about was how to get out of it.

Ehit merely nodded with the same indifferent expression. I planned to politely decline as soon as the explanation ended.

“Normally, participants draw numbers from a box, but since only one of each number remains, I’ll assign them directly.”

I opened my mouth to refuse, but Ehit spoke first.

“Can numbers be purchased?”

“Pardon? Purchased…?”

“I’m curious whether one can buy a different number if they’re dissatisfied with the one they draw.”

“Oh, no, not that. But you can exchange numbers. You’re free to trade with anyone else at the event.”

“I see.”

“Colonel, you’ll have number 37, and my lady, number 21. The dance begins in twenty minutes in the central Melton Hall. Enjoy yourselves.”

Before I could say a word, Marquis Esi hurried off.

Wait a second. I only came here to see Naia!

“I have something to take care of. I’ll see you in twenty minutes.”

“What?”

I was still trying to figure out what to do when even Ehit left after saying that, disappearing into the crowd.

“Ehit?!”

I called after him quietly, but he vanished without even looking back.

What was that?

Left alone in an instant, I suddenly felt lonely amid the crowd—and even a little hungry.

I moved to a crowded corner. On the way, I grabbed a piece of bread.

Hiding my mouth behind my fan, I started eating.

Afterward, I planned to tell Marquis Esi that I wouldn’t be participating and then look for Naia again.

Where did Ehit go?

Maybe he went to find a dance partner.

Just moments ago, I had been thinking I shouldn’t spend time with him. Yet now that he had walked away so abruptly, I felt oddly disappointed.

Elegant voices echoed around me.

Still, I had become fairly good at tuning out other people’s conversations.

“Lady Aileta?”

Well, unless someone suddenly called me by that name.

I turned around to see Ariel standing there.

She was one of Ehit’s fleet officers and, if I remembered correctly, Delrus’s senior officer.

With her chic short hair and a dress the color of the night sky, she approached me with surprise in her eyes.

“Major?”

“It’s been a long time. Have you been well?”

“Yes. What about you? Weren’t you in Bellachen?”

“I came to the capital as part of the colonel’s escort when he—”

Ariel stopped abruptly, as if she realized she had made a mistake. Mentioning my former fiancé probably seemed awkward.

Seeing the troubled look replace her warm smile, I quickly waved my hands.

“It’s alright. We’ve already met.”

“You have?”

“Yes. He’s been visiting the medical center often. We ran into each other there, and again here.”

“I see.”

“He disappeared somewhere just now. Maybe he went to find a dance partner.”

The moment I said it, I felt as though I had said something unnecessary.

“So, I guess it doesn’t really concern me anyway.”

That addition somehow felt even more unnecessary.

“So the colonel finally found you, Lady Aileta.”

The word finally made me tilt my head.

It sounded as though Ehit had been searching for me all along.

“Ehit was looking for me?”

“Did the colonel not tell you anything?”

“He just said he came across me by chance while visiting the medical center.”

“If that’s what the colonel said… then I’ll accept it as such.”

Ariel ended the topic with a smile.

Since she had clearly chosen to stop there, it was probably best not to press further.

But…

“Major, was Ehit really trying to find me?”

I didn’t know why it mattered so much, but I wanted to know.

Things between us hadn’t ended well last year. Honestly, the Ehit who had turned away from me back then hadn’t seemed to have any lingering feelings at all. I had assumed he had moved on completely.

That made it even harder to understand how he felt now.

The man who extended a hand to me with the same calm, rational expression as always stood right on the boundary.

Was he seeking me out because some small part of his feelings remained?

Or had everything that happened become nothing more than an old memory, making him genuinely happy to see me again after so long?

On that uncertain boundary—

I hid my growing anxiety behind an awkward smile and waited for Ariel’s answer.

Keeping her composed expression, Ariel smiled.

“I think it would be better if you heard that answer directly from the colonel.”

It was the perfect answer.

But then she added one more thing.

“The colonel is… healthy. He doesn’t normally visit medical centers.”

Just that one sentence.

Afterward, Ariel changed the subject and asked how I had been. Happy to see a familiar face after so long, I chatted with her for quite some time before we headed to the central hall together.

The moment I entered the hall, I remembered something I had nearly forgotten.

Marquis Esi was standing in the center, announcing the start of the event from earlier.

That’s right. I was going to tell him I wasn’t participating.

I had completely forgotten while talking with Ariel.

I still hadn’t even found Naia.

I hadn’t volunteered to participate, but now that the event had already started, leaving felt rude to whoever had been paired with me.

Deciding I would simply dance once and then wait for Naia, I started looking for the person with my number.

Throughout the hall stood attendants holding flags marked with groups of numbers in tens. Participants gathered in the section matching their number range and then found their assigned partner.

Number 21… over there.

Parting ways with Ariel, I headed toward a man holding a flag marked with numbers in the twenties.

Since it was close to where I had been standing, I arrived quickly. Not many people had gathered yet.

As I stood there quietly, someone suddenly spoke beside me.

“My lady, may I ask your number?”

It was a blond young nobleman standing in the twenties section.

I showed him the ticket in my hand.

“Twenty-one.”

“What a shame. I’m twenty-three.”

“Then perhaps that’s fortunate for you. I’m a terrible dancer.”

The blond nobleman chuckled and lowered his number card.

“Then when this dance is over, would you honor me with another? Now I’m curious just how bad your dancing is.”

“It’s better left as a mystery. I’m truly worse than you can imagine. Still, thank you for asking.”

More and more people were gathering.

I glanced around, wondering which of them had number twenty-one.

The blond nobleman, noticing me looking around, asked if I was searching for my partner.

“Yes.”

I nodded and was about to ask others for their numbers when—

“Number twenty-one! Is number twenty-one here?”

Smiling brightly, the blond nobleman called out to the crowd.

“If you are, let’s trade!”

The loud announcement drew the attention of everyone in the twenties section.

I was thoroughly embarrassed by his sudden stunt.

Especially since several young ladies who might have been his assigned partners were already standing nearby.

“I’m number twenty-three. But I’d like to dance with this lady. Anyone willing to trade will receive a thirty percent discount on silk from House Ainel!”

His offer was so unusual that I couldn’t tell whether his goal was dancing with me or selling silk.

I nearly panicked.

One of the ladies watching looked visibly annoyed, which only made it worse.

“Gentleman number twenty-one, if you’d like a better reward, just name your price. Let’s trade.”

If someone actually agreed, the situation would become even more awkward.

“Please stop. The dance is about to begin anyway.”

“Trades are allowed until the music starts. Number twenty-one, opportunities like this don’t come every day. Trade with me before you regret it! Number twenty-one, where are you?”

I hurriedly opened my mouth to stop him again.

Then, from behind me, an arm stretched forward and held out a ticket toward the blond nobleman.

It read 21.

“Ah, there you are. Then let’s trade—”

The blond nobleman smiled and reached for the ticket.

But just before his hand touched it, the man holding it pulled it back.

“I have no intention of trading.”

What?

That voice…

Around the same time, I noticed the others standing before me staring at the man holding number twenty-one with widened eyes.